Led by Carli Lloyd, American women dominate Japan and take World Cup championship

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USA midfielder Carli Lloyd (left) is congratuled by goalkeeper Hope Solo after scoring a goal during the final football match between USA and Japan during their 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup at the BC Place Stadium in Vancouver on July 5, 2015.

Carli Lloyd (10) of the United States scores her second goal in the first half against Japan in the FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015 Final at BC Place Stadium on July 5, 2015, in Vancouver, Canada.

The United States celebrates after winning the FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015 5-2 against Japan at BC Place Stadium on July 5, 2015, in Vancouver, Canada.

Alex Morgan (13) of the United States celebrates the 5-2 victory against Japan in the FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015 Final at BC Place Stadium on July 5, 2015, in Vancouver, Canada.

The USA's Carli Lloyd (L) vies for the ball with Japan's Rumi Utsugi during the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup final between the USA and Japan at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia on July 5, 2015. AFP PHOTO/NICHOLAS KAMMNICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images

United States' Megan Rapinoe, right, celebrates with Sydney Leroux, left, after the U.S. beat Japan 5-2 in the FIFA Women's World Cup soccer championship in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Sunday, July 5, 2015. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

OAKLAND — The 2015 Women’s World Cup anointed a star worthy of adoration and a team worth remembering.

Our daughters should know the name Carli Lloyd. So should our sons. Her combination of talent, grind and personality is the ultimate package. She has shown a courageous quality for playing her best in the biggest games.

And to cap it off — in Sunday’s showdown against Japan, which beat the U.S. in the 2011 World Cup Final — Lloyd gave the performance of a lifetime. She’s the first woman to produce a hat trick in the final, leading the way to a 5-2 win and America’s first World Cup crown in 16 years.

“I called her my beast, and she’s just a beast, man,” USA coach Jill Ellis said after the riveting rout of Japan. “She’s unbelievable. Rock star.”

And right along with her, this edition of the U.S. Women’s National Team has become legendary, too. It has crafted its own special chapter of American sports history. This team has gifted a new generation of little girls with high-test fuel for powering their dreams.

The 1999 squad was a crew of pioneers, and they earned a place in American sports lore with a heart attack-inducing triumph over China. They introduced the greatness of women’s soccer to the broader American audience, punctuated by Brandi Chastain’s clinching penalty kick and abs showcase.

But the 2015 squad carved its perch with shocking dominance. This team re-established American superiority in women’s soccer. Not just by winning it all, but by owning FIFA, punctuated by Carli toying with the Japanese defense for a hat trick in the first 16 minutes.

The Americans didn’t play particularly well early on in the tournament, but were never really threatened. Hampered by injury and sprinkled with inexperience, they got stronger as the World Cup progressed. And when they found their groove, this was just too much. Their speed, their ball skills, the way they apply pressure from so many angles.

They beat China despite two key players suspended due to yellow cards. They returned to full strength and dominated Germany, their toughest opponent in the World Cup. And Japan, which made it to the finals thanks to the sheer misfortune of England, was completely overwhelmed.

It was simply a matter of USA getting its game together. No one was better. And that reality was driven home Sunday.

Through it all, their defense stifled all comers, coming six seconds from breaking the Women’s World Cup record for consecutive scoreless minutes (540). And they got offense when they most needed it. Usually from Carli.

She had a hand in seven straight goals over three games, six of them goals she scored. She was finisher and playmaker. She was a physical presence and an emotional leader.

Carli was so clutch, the World Cup Final was robbed of crunch time. Her three goals left a nation gasping in disbelief. A world. A soccer universe.

The first was a beautiful inside-out shot in the third minute, a grounder she perfectly angled through the legs of a defender and past Japan’s keeper. The second, two minutes later, was a side-footed dribbler through two defenders and the keeper, a score that was really a product of hustle and her nose for the ball.

And her third goal, putting USA up 4-0, was ridiculous. She duped the keeper into thinking pass and blasted in a goal from 56.9 yards away.

“Speechless,” Lloyd said in her postgame interview, her voice cracking and a curtain of tears over her eyes. “This doesn’t feel real. We just made history.”

In a span of 16 minutes, we saw Carli’s technique, her relentlessness, her skill.

And then, in the final minutes, when women’s soccer great Abby Wambach subbed in for her last World Cup, Carli took off her captain armband and put it on Wambach. So we got to see her selfless spirit as well.

The 1999 team had Mia. The 2015 champs had Carli.

She is the face of a group of women who reminded us female greatness is also intoxicating. A supreme talent activated by work ethic and epic drive. An unassuming star who prefers talking about her teammates.

The Women’s World Cup title belongs to the U.S. The women’s national team is the pride of American soccer.

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